This Is So Wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[seniorcats]

Housework Helps Combat Anxiety And Depression
New Scientist
19 April 2008

From New Scientist Print Edition.

FEELING down? You might be able to dust away your distress. Just 20 minutes a week with the vacuum cleaner or mop is enough to help banish those blues, and sport works even better.
That's the message from Mark Hamer and his colleagues at University College London, who wanted to find out what benefits arise from different types of physical activity. They examined data from questionnaires filled in by almost 20,000 Scottish people as part of the Scottish Health Surveys, carried out every few years. Some 3200 respondents reported suffering from anxiety or depression, but those who regularly wielded the mop or the tennis racket were least likely to suffer, the researchers report (British Journal of Sports Medicine, DOI: 10.1136/bjsm.2008.046243).
One 20-minute session of housework or walking reduced the risk of depression by up to 20 per cent. A sporting session worked better, reducing risk by a third or more. Failing housework or sport, says Hamer, try to find something physical to do. "Something - even for just 20 minutes a week - is better than nothing."

 

[polly]

huh housework gives me depression and anxiety cause its guaranteed my in laws manage to turn up when its at its mesiest

 

[Leaf]

When I feel ullhair:I usually get in a cleaning mode because it takes my mind off of everything else. Of course, I usually end up making a huge mess to sort though later when I try to organize!

 

[Little Bay Poo]

This is a correlation study. It shows that there is a relationship between physical activity and anxiety/depression, but does not imply cause and effect. The researchers shouldn't be claiming that housework and physical activity reduce the risk of anxiety and depression. They have only shown that a relationship exists, but have not used experimental and control groups to determine what that relationship really means.

It's similar to the studies that used to come out saying violent video games cause kids to be violent. In reality, it is more likely that if the kid was violent, he/she had issues to begin with and it wasn't "caused" by playing a game.

 

[Bunnicula]

Hmmmm...how thought-provoking.

:vacuum: vs :run:

Which would YOU choose?

 

[BlueGiants]

It's very possible that people that suffer from depression are just notable (mentally motivated?)to do housework... that doesn't prove thatdoinghousework prevents depression. Maybe depression prevents housework!

 

[seniorcats]

Little Bay Poo wrote:

This is a correlation study. It shows that there is a relationship between physical activity and anxiety/depression, but does not imply cause and effect. The researchers shouldn't be claiming that housework and physical activity reduce the risk of anxiety and depression. They have only shown that a relationship exists, but have not used experimental and control groups to determine what that relationship really means.

It's similar to the studies that used to come out saying violent video games cause kids to be violent. In reality, it is more likely that if the kid was violent, he/she had issues to begin with and it wasn't "caused" by playing a game.

I know physical activity is supposed to get the endorphins going but then so does chocolate. Hm-m-m-m-m, housework or chocolate, now there's a clear choice.

I did try to use the article to get my husband to do some housework. Heisn't ready to buy into to this yet....